(cost of communication)

That morning Elena insisted that Margot take her to the boarding house after Stefan had called her, informing her of a new presence in the boarding house. Damon was the one to answer the door due to the fact that Margot had forgotten her key the day before. 

"Hello, Elena. Margot."

"Is Stefan here? He called. Said it was important."

When the man said nothing Margot scoffed before pushing past him, "He's right here, Lena."

Damon rolled his eyes as Elena walked past, "You gotta let me be dramatic at least once a day, Maggie."

"Will you make me vampcakes?" she asked, a curious expression on her face.

"Yes?"

"Then fine. You get one dramatic moment today."

"Oh, goody. This is Rose, the one responsible for kidnapping Elena by the way," he said as he gestured to the brunette woman who stood on the opposite side of the room.

"Oh?"

The woman, Rose, awkwardly waves to the girl earning a small smile from Margot and a glare from Elena. "What's she doing here?"

— — —

"Okay, I only know what I've picked up over the years. And I don't know what's true and what's not true. That's the problem with all of this vampire crap. But Klaus, I know is real," Rose spoke up as she paced through the room.

"Klaus? The hybrid?" Margot questioned earning confused looks from the other occupants.

"How do you know about him?"

"All witches know about him. He's a legend, a fairytale told to children to scare them into eating their vegetables. I used to read about him when I was little. It was the only book I had– 'Klaus Mikaelson. The great evil.' He's a bad guy if he is real."

"Who is he?" Elena asked.

"He's one of the originals. Margot was right when she said he's a legend," Damon answered with the little information he had gathered from Rose that morning.

When Elena stared at him with a confused look, Stefan added, "First generation of vampires."

"Like Elijah?" she asked, referring to the man Damon had staked to the wall the day prior.

Rose scoffed and crossed her arms. "No. Elijah is the easter bunny compared to Klaus. He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

"Klaus is known to be the oldest," Stefan added, causing Elena's eyes to widen. "Okay, so you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"

"Yes."

"No."

Elena scoffed while Margot chuckled in amusement.

"I mean if what she's saying is true–" Rose cut Damon off, "-Which it is."

"And you're not saying it so we don't kill you," Damon continued. "Then we're looking at a solid maybe."

"How reassuring," Margot muttered under her breath, earning a playful glare from Stefan. "Look, Elijah's dead right? No one else even knows that you exist."

"Not that you know of."

Damon glared at Rose, "Not helping."

"I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know what's real. He could be some stupid bedtime story like Margot said."

Rose stood up, "He's real. And he doesn't give up! If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid then you're an idiot."

"Alright, we're shaking. You made your point," Damon said, cutting the woman off after seeing how nervous Elena was getting.

Said girl stood up and grabbed onto her bag, earning confused looks. "Where are you going?"

"School. I'm late," she answered nonchalantly, earning bewildered looks.

Stefan nodded after a moment of silence, "Let me, uh, let me grab my stuff. I'll go with you."

"It's okay. I know where it is. Besides, Margot is taking me."

The girl perked up, "I am?"

"You are. I'll meet you in the car."

Margot sent Stefan a look of confusion only for him to nod, gesturing for her to follow. She shrugged before running after the doppelgänger.

"So. We're not actually going to school, are we?" she asked as they got into Elena's car.

The girl smiled, "Of course not. Can you call Caroline and tell her to cover for us?"

— — —

Margot followed Elena through a forest, both girls carrying large duffel bags until they reached what appeared to be an old ruin. "Is this the tomb? I thought all the tomb vampires were dead?" Margot asked as Elena stopped in front of what looked like a door.

"They are. There is someone in there that I need to talk to though and I need you to open it."

Margot sighed. She didn't have much magic left. She was running low after taking Elijah down. "Okay. Stand back."

The girl nodded as she watched Margot chant in Latin, "Vitae, spargo, vodux." With her words, the stone door moved revealing Katherine in a black lace dress that was covered in dirt and fallen leaves.

"Littlest Salvatore? Guess it's my lucky day."

Margot rolled her eyes, "She's all yours, Lena."

"Did you come to watch me wither away? Does Stefan know you two are here?"

"I brought you some things," Elena said, ignoring the vampire's question, as she threw a few articles of clothing into the tomb.

"You came to bribe me?" She asked as she looked at what appeared to be Elena's old clothing. "What is it that you want?"

"I want you to tell us about Klaus."

"Mmm. You've been busy," she taunted as she picked up a shirt, a frown falling onto her lips before she dropped it. "You couldn't have brought me Margot's clothes?"

Elena once again ignored her as she pulled out a book, "I also brought you this. It's your family history. It says in here that the family line ended with you. Obviously, that's not true."

Katherine scoffed, "You think that if you brought me some family keepsake I'd open up?"

Margot smiled as she held up a blood bag, "No. That's why we brought this."

The vampire perked up as she sped to the door only to be stopped by the barrier.

"You aren't looking so good, kitty. How long before your body shuts down? 10, 20 years? Must be painful..."

Katherine sighed before sitting down, leaning her head against the wall as Margot poured some blood into a cup before moving it past the barrier with a small blue wisp.

She immediately downed the small amount of red liquid before setting the cup down.

"More blood?" Elena asked as Margot brought the cup back onto their side of the tomb.

"It's a long story, Klaus and I. We go all the way back to England, 1492 after I left Bulgaria. Well... Or was thrown out."

"Thrown out?" Elena asked as she handed her more blood.

"My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The shame..."

"It was kept secret. That's why it isn't in the book."

"Mhm. My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust. So, I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him at first, till I found out what he was and what he wanted from me. And then I ran like hell."

"What did he want?" Margot asked as she walked closer before leaning against the cobblestone wall.

"The same thing he'll want from Elena. He wants to break the curse."

"By sacrificing the Petrova doppelgänger."

"He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body."

— — —

"What does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?" Elena asked as she moved to sit down across from the woman.

"It's really tedious but the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells, isn't that right, Margot? The doppelgänger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once a doppelgänger reappears, the curse can be broken."

Elena crossed her arms, "So, you ran before he killed you."

"Something like that."

— — —

"You killed yourself?" Elena asked, her voice filled with shock after Katherine told them what happened while she was in the forest running from Klaus' men.

"Klaus needed a human doppelgänger. As a vampire, I was no longer of any use to him."

"But it didn't work. You didn't escape. You've been running ever since."

"I underestimated his spirit for vengeance. But living out of a suitcase is better than dying so that you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock. You understand, don't you, Margot? Your family tried to sacrifice you... Didn't end well for them though, did it?"

The siphoner scoffed, "That's none of your business, Katherine."

She smirked, "Oh, does little Elena not know how you massacred your whole coven? You and Stefan killed them... one by one."

"You did that?" Elena asked, turning to face the witch. "They deserved it," Margot said with a shrug, trying her best not to relive the memories. "Now stop changing the subject."

The vampire smirked, "Alright... But you know there is another way out." She smiled deviously as she cut her wrist open with her nail. "Better hurry. Your opportunity of going, going and... gone. I made the other choice. If you're smart, Elena, you'll look out for yourself. Stop caring about others."

"So, how much of your little story is true?" Elena asked, seeing Margot sitting across from her as she attempted to have a nap.

"I have no reason to lie, Elena. I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot."

"Okay, assuming it's even partially true, that's the reason why you came back, isn't it? Because you wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus."

"500 years on the run, I figured maybe he'd be willing to strike a deal."

"What else is needed for the curse? The moonstone, my blood..."

Katherine almost looked at her with pride. "Look who's getting smarter."

"You triggered Tyler's werewolf curse... You turned Caroline into a vampire."

"Witches and their spells. So many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice."

"What else?"

"A witch to do the spell. Bonnie, or even Margot will do just fine if she siphons enough. The vampire, Caroline. A werewolf, Tyler..."

"So, you were just going to hand us all over to be killed."

"Better you die than I."

Before Katherine could say anything else, Stefan came running down, his eyes widening at the sight of Margot in the corner. "Is she okay? Are you okay?" He asked as he ran over to Margot, listening to her pulse and hearing that she was only asleep.

"What are you doing here, Stefan?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Elena sighed, "Caroline told you."

"No, she kept your secret. It didn't take long for me to figure out what was so important that you'd have to keep it from me."

"I knew that you'd stop me," Elena argued, watching as he picked up Margot, her head resting on his shoulder as her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.

"Whatever she said to you is a lie. Do not listen to her. She's a liar, Elena."

"So, did she lie about you and Margot killing an entire coven of witches?"

"What?"

"Exactly. If she didn't lie about that then maybe she isn't about this."

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Elena shook her head. "If it comes down to it, you will save Margot. She's your daughter, Stefan and I understand that but I need to protect myself for once. I can't let you all die trying to protect me."

"There is nothing you can do, Stefan," Katherine spoke up from inside the tomb.

"I haven't even told you the best part of the story. I returned home after months of running only to find the bodies of my family, massacred. He killed them. My entire family. Just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance. On your friends, on your family, on anyone that you've ever loved."

Stefan shook his head as he looked at Elena, "No, look at me. Don't listen to her."

"Always the protector. But even you must realize she is doomed. There is nothing you can do to stop it... Unless of course, you have this," she said as she held up the moonstone.

"There it is. That's the ultimate lie, isn't it? You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you."

"I didn't spin anything, Stefan. It's the truth."

"No. Let me guess. You wanna trade that stone for your freedom, hm? You manipulative, psychotic bitch."

"My freedom?" Katherine scoffed. "That's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all and he will... I'll be in the tomb. Where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town... Oh, and I would get Margot out of town. Lord knows what he'll do to her when he knows how much power she can harness."

— — —

"Hi, can we talk?" Stefan asked as Elena opened her front door to reveal the three Salvatores. Margot, the only one with a small smile on her face as she quickly entered, giving the human a hug before scurrying off into the kitchen.

That morning, Stefan, Margot and Damon had paid a visit to Katherine's tomb.

"Let's do it," Damon said as he and Stefan lifted the stone door away, setting it against the wall while Margot supervised.

Katherine immediately walked, or rather straggled out, sending glares to the two vampires and siphoner. "Come back to taunt me? Again? You must be getting bored or desperate." She glanced at Margot, "Why don't you come inside? I could teach you a few things."

Margot rolled her eyes at the woman's lewd suggestion, "I'd rather see my father again. We're here for the moonstone. Hand it over and I'll let you out the second Klaus is out of town."

"Let me out? And how would you be able to do that, littlest Salvatore?"

"I can siphon any magical being or item. I could easily siphon the spell off of the tomb and let you walk free. Do we have a deal?"

"I'd rather you let me out now."

Stefan raised his brow, "I thought you liked it in there. Nice and safe where Klaus can't get you."

Her face remained stoic, "I've had time to reconsider."

"Meaning you're hungry," Damon pointed out, a small smirk on his face.

"I'm starving. And bored. At least running from Klaus wasn't boring- so here's the deal: you have littlest Salvatore here siphon the spell, you get the moonstone, and I'll disappear from Mystic Falls, never to return."

When they stayed silent, Katherine smiled, "If you don't do it, Margot, your friend will die and chances are, so will Stefan and Damon. You will have no one. It'll be like the basement all over again... Let me know when you decide."

Now, inside the Gilbert residence, Margot sat on the island, eating a bag of chips while Stefan and Damon stood in front of Elena who asked, "You don't believe her, do you?"

"No, of course not. We just want the moonstone."

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break," Stefan added, as he moved closer to Margot before sitting on the spot next to her.

"No spell, no doppelgänger sacrifice. Ergo, you live," Damon said as though he had figured it all out.

"How do you destroy it?"

"By releasing it from the moonstone."

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?" she asked hesitantly.

"Cause we have two crafty witches on our side."

"You discussed it with Bonnie and Maggie?"

The siphon nodded, "We both agreed to do anything we can to help you."

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you," Elena argued, ignoring the way her heart fluttered at Margot's words.

"We're gonna get it from her," Stefan reassured, a hopeful look in his eyes before Damon said, "Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hand if we have to."

"Bonnie and I just need to find a way to release the seal long enough for Stefan and Damon to get in, get the moonstone, and get out in time for us to return it."

Elena stared at them. It was obvious she didn't like the plan. All three Salvatores could practically guess the words about to come out of her mouth. "Wow. I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out."

Damon grinned. "Yep. We're awesome."

"Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it."

Margot sighed, her shoulders dropping at the girl's words. She loved Elena but her noble act could get quite annoying at times.

"What are you talking about? Elena, we don't have a choice."

"What about Klaus?"

"We'll find him right after we get the moonstone."

Elena raised a perfectly sculpted brow, "Is that before or after he kills everyone that I care about, including the three of you."

"Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life," Stefan said in an attempt to convince her.

"I know. Everybody keeps saying that," she muttered before walking out.

— — —

"Margot and I might be able to lower the tomb spell long enough for you to get in there and grab the moonstone from Katherine. It won't be for long though," Bonnie said as she stood in the parlour, Stefan, Damon and Jeremy across from her while Margot stood beside her.

"How? It took both you and your Grams last time, and look what happened to her," Jeremy said, earning a silent glare from Margot.

"I'm well aware of what happened. I've learned a few new things. And I have Margot. She will need to siphon off one of you though... quite a lot too."

Stefan nodded. "Okay."

"How will you get it?" Bonnie asked after Stefan's confirmation.

"She hasn't been feeding. She's weaker. We're not," Damon answered as he lifted a glass full of blood.

"You wouldn't be underestimating her, would you?"

Damon almost rolled his eyes but refrained from doing so, "It's a plan. Is it perfect? What plan is?"

Jeremy stood up, "Let me do it. I've got my ring. I can get in, get out, no spells necessary."

The room went quiet. Margot almost laughed at the boy's suggestion as Damon spoke up, "Gee, thanks, you 16-year-old child. Why didn't we think about that? Why are you even here?"

"Maybe I can help better the plan. Do you have anything that belongs to Katherine?"

Both Margot and Damon glanced at Stefan, knowing the item that sat in his bedroom, inside the journal with the year 2005 written on its spine. Stefan nodded before going up the staircase.

A few moments later, he came back down, the small picture in his hand before handing it to Bonnie. "This belonged to Katherine. Found it with her things after I thought she was dead, but it was hers."

Bonnie grasped onto the picture before placing it into a small ceramic bowl, flames sprouting from it after she let a few drops of water fall.

"What will this do?" Damon asked after she stopped chanting, watching as the picture turned into ash.

"I can turn the metal into ash. Blow the ashes on her, and it'll incapacitate her for a minute or two. Long enough for you to get the stone and get out."

As soon as everyone looked away though, blood started to drip from the girl's nose. Margot stared at her with a concerned expression only for the witch to shake her head.

Stefan, Damon and Jeremy all left the room to gather weapons while Margot and Bonnie stayed.

"What was that, Bonnie?"

"What was what?" the witch asked with faux innocence.

"The blood. You've been over-exerting yourself. Why don't you sit out on this one? No one will be mad."

"Damon would be. Besides, I can't let you do this alone. You'd probably kill Stefan with the amount you'd have to siphon."

Margot sighed. The witch had a point. "Fine, but if you get tired, you sit down and let me do the rest. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Bonnie answered with a small smile on her face. She never understood why her Grams hated Margot as much as she did. She didn't understand why she had hated all siphoners really.

In Bonnie's mind, just because Margot couldn't produce her own magic, didn't make her any less of a witch.

— — —

Bonnie and Margot lugged multiple bags of equipment down to the tomb where Stefan and Damon stood. "Sorry, we're late. I had to grab the grimoire from home."

"Jeremy couldn't take the pressure?" Damon asked as he noticed the disappearance of the teenage boy.

"He said he'd be here," Bonnie answered assertively as she and Stefan walked closer to the door, Margot following behind them.

Margot frowned in confusion as she noticed a small clear rock laying on the ground, "What the hell? Is that the moonstone, Stef?"

As Stefan picked up the stone, Katherine walked out, her face covered in blood as she held Jeremy by his neck, the boy's shirt stained with blood, bite marks littering his neck.

"I hate to interrupt, but today has just been full of surprises."

Stefan rushed to the door only to be held back by Margot's magic, the girl stopping him from going too far as Jeremy spoke up, "I'm sorry. I took some powder."

The brunette vampire smirked as she wiped a drop of blood off of her lip, "Don't worry, I know that he's wearing his ring, so no matter how many times I kill him, he'll just keep coming back for more. So, I'm going to be in the back playing with my new little toy. And you guys just give me a holler when you've got the tomb open."

Margot sighed, watching as the woman walked away, throwing Jeremy further into the tomb. As Stefan lit the torches he noticed the disappearance of his brother, "Where the hell is Damon?" Bonnie shook her head, "We can't wait, we have to get him out of there."

"She's fed, she has her strength back," Stefan informed them, sending Margot an unsure look as he started to doubt the plan.

"We still have what's left of the ash," the siphoner reassured, "Besides, I won't let her hurt you."

He nodded as he took the small bag of ash from her. "Don't over-exert yourself, sweetheart. I don't care if anything happens, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't. I'm all charged up. I'll be fine, Da- Stef."

The vampire smiled at her as he pulled her into a hug. He knew she almost called him Dad. He knew she had done so on multiple occasions, mostly when she was drunk or asleep. She talked in her sleep, not often but enough for him to know.

"It's gonna take us some time," Bonnie said as the pair parted from their hug.

"How long?" He asked.

"I don't know, a while."

He nodded. He didn't get angry like Damon would have. "Just get me in there as soon as you can."

— — —

Bonnie and Margot held each other's hands as they chanted in Latin. A slight blue mist, similar to the one that appeared when she siphoned someone, appeared around them, floating in the air as their chants got louder.

Stefan had never seen her do magic like this. It was beautiful. The blue light danced between their hands, illuminating the cave in a dreamy colour.

Katherine walked closer to the doorway of the tomb, her stoic expression disappearing for a second before appearing again. She knew the girl was powerful but she had never seen anything like this.

Of all the siphoners she had met, their powers were red as they siphoned, but Margot, for some odd reason, hers were blue. It didn't take long for her to remember a legend from a couple of millenias before. The legend of The Midnight Witch.

Bonnie's nose began to bleed as they continued the spell, her head pounded as she chanted along with Margot. The siphoner stared at her worriedly as her legs wobbled.

"Stop, Bonnie! I can finish this!" she yelled but the witch didn't stop, she only chanted harder. She kept chanting, her words slurring as she continued to wobble before she fell unconscious into Margot's arms.

"Bonnie!" they yelled worriedly. "Bonnie. Bonnie, wake up, please. Bonnie, wake up. Bonnie."

Katherine rolled her eyes from inside the tomb, "Yes, please because I'm still in here!"

"Are you okay? Are you alright?" Both Stefan and Margot asked as the witch finally woke up.

"It didn't work," she whimpered. "Even with Margot's help, I wasn't strong enough."

"Ah, that's too bad, I'm still hungry," Katherine spoke up as she grabbed onto Jeremy but before she could sink her teeth into his neck, Stefan, being the hero he is, ran inside the tomb before pushing the human out past the barrier into Margot's arms.

"Go!" he yelled as he held Katherine against the wall by her neck.

Margot handed Jeremy to Bonnie as she stared at Stefan in shock. "Dad, why the hell did you do that?" she yelled. "I- I could have done something!"

"Go home, Maggie. Call Damon. Don't come back here."

When the girl didn't move, Jeremy and Bonnie gently led her out of the tomb, stopping her from doing something she would regret.

— — —

As soon as Damon entered the boarding house he was pulled into a hug by an upset Margot. "Hey, kiddo," he whispered softly as he wrapped his arms around her. He knew how much she needed a hug.

"How are we going to get him out?"

He sighed, "I don't know. But, I know we'll figure it out. Together. Just like we always do."

She slowly nodded, still holding onto him, not wanting to let go of him. "Promise you won't pull something like that? At least not until he gets back so I can have one of you."

A small smile appeared on his face, "Of course, kid. Oh, and Elijah's back."

"I thought you killed him?"

"So did I. Turns out, Originals are a bit of a bitch to kill."

She sighed, "This is gonna be a mess, isn't it?"

"Isn't it always?"

— — —

Margot had spent the majority of the day with Elena in an attempt to keep her away from the tomb per Stefan's request. They had done everything young teenage girls did at sleepovers including girl talk, movies, food and shit-talking Damon.

Now, after four movies the girls had decided to go downstairs and see Jenna after they heard her a few bangs sound from the lower level. "Hey, what are you doing?" Elena asked as she watched her aunt pull boxes out from the entryway closet.

The woman smiled, "Oh perfect timing. Hey, Margot."

The siphoner sent her a smile as she took one of the boxes from the strawberry blonde's hands. "What is all this stuff?"

"Elena's mom's files from the historical society. I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood-" she paused before quickly restating her sentence, "And by roped I mean I'm very excited to participate."

Jenna grinned as she stood up, closing the closet door only to reveal Elijah who stood in the kitchen doorway casually. Elena gasped, and in her state of shock, dropped the book she was holding while Margot stared at him with hard eyes.

"Hey, I'm Elijah," he greeted nonchalantly as if he hadn't tried to kill them only a few days prior.

He watched as Margot rolled her eyes and a small grin appeared on his face. He liked her sass. It reminded him of someone.

"Elijah's in town doing research on Mystic Falls," Jenna informed them as she took the box from Margot's arms before walking into the kitchen, leaving Elijah alone with the two girls.

"It's a pleasure," he said as he held his hand out to Elena who reluctantly shook it before he turned to Margot only for her to shake her head, "Germaphobe, sorry."

He only grinned as he put his hand down and held it by his side, "Of course."

Jenna walked back into the hallway, standing beside Elena as she smiled, "So, you're welcome to stay here and rummage through this stuff. Or Maggie, Elena and I can help you load it into your car."

"Yeah, or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow," he suggested, a smile still on his face as he looked between Jenna and Margot.

The older woman smiled, "Heh. Also a good plan."

As he moved to walk past them he stopped momentarily, "Well, thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna. And Margot, I hope to see you soon."

The siphoner rolled her eyes as the vampire walked out. Not even a second later, Elena ran up the stairs while Jenna smiled at Margot. "He totally has the hots for you."

Margot grinned as a small laugh escaped her lips, "Too bad for him. I'm not into the whole goody-two-shoes act. I'll be upstairs. See you for dinner, Jenna. We're making spaghetti, right?"

Jenna nodded with a smile. "Your favourite."

The siphoner sent the human one last smile before she followed Elena up the stairs only to see Elijah holding Elena against the wall between Jeremy's room and their shared washroom.

"Really? Do you want me to hurt you that badly?" she asked as she walked closer, stepping off the stairs as she pulled her hands out of her pockets.

He smiled at her as he gently let Elena go, deciding against pissing the siphoner off. He didn't overly feel like being siphoned again. He had experienced many pains in his life and the worst ones were being daggered and now being siphoned.

Margot grinned triumphantly as she walked towards the door across from them. "Good boy. Now let's have a civil chat in Elena's room."

— — —

"Forgive the intrusion. I mean your family no harm," Elijah said formally as he studied the doppelgänger's bedroom.

"Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?" Elena questioned, referring to the vampires in Richmond, as she closed the door, Margot standing by her side.

"Because I didn't want you to be taken. Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals, but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelgänger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and I can't have that."

The brunette frowned, "Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?"

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

Margot scoffed, "Then what is your goal?"

"Klaus' obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle," Elijah explained as he sat down on her window seat, looking at the pictures on the girl's wall, and noticing a picture of Margot kissing a blonde girl. "You have a girlfriend?" he asked, glancing between the picture and Margot.

Margot smiled, "No. That's our best friend Caroline. It was a dare and we were both drunk. See that picture?" she pointed at the one only two pictures over. "That's Elena and Bonnie the same night."

The doppelgänger blushed madly. She hadn't even realized Caroline had put those pictures up. "You're changing the subject. You said Klaus has an inner circle with only a few people he trusts. You're one of them?"

"Not anymore."

"You don't know where he is, do you? So you're trying to use me to draw him out."

He stared at her for a moment before he spoke, "Well, to do that I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Margot questioned, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him.

"If I wasn't being truthful, all of Elena's family would be dead and I'd be taking her to Klaus right now. Instead, I'm here and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?"

Elijah looked at Elena, "Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw out Klaus together and I shall make sure your friends remain unharmed. Including you, Margot. I know he'll want to take you."

"And then what?"

"Then I kill him."

"Just like that?" she asked skeptically.

"Just like that. I'm a man of my word, Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?"

"I notice you have a friend; Bonnie, is it? She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts. I assume you wouldn't like to meet them, Margot?"

"You assumed correctly," she answered as he spoke up again, "Together, we can protect everybody that matters to you. So, do we have a deal?"

"I need you to do one more thing for me," Elena said, earning a confused look from Margot and Elijah.

"We're negotiating now?"

— — —

After Elena made her negotiations with the Original, Elijah led the siphoner out of the Gilbert residence before leading her towards the forest where the tomb sat.

"What did you mean when you said Klaus would want me?" she asked as she rubbed her arms, not liking the way the cold air nipped at her uncovered skin.

"You're a very powerful being, Margot. There are not many like you, in fact, I've never met one even remotely similar to you," he answered as he took off his suit jacket and laid it over the girl's shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered as she pulled the coat closer. "How am I powerful? I don't even have magic of my own?"

"There are legends. Myths even of a being that is both witch and vampire, a heretic if you will. It is said that she will be the one to end us all. Klaus being who he is, will want you on his side."

"And how does one become a heretic?"

"Any siphoner can be turned into one. It's the same process as a normal vampire. However, when you wake, you would no longer have to siphon as you would have a constant source of magic," he explained as they walked past a few more trees as he tracked Stefan and Katherine's scents.

"I've read about heretics before. There was a coven of them in the early 1900s. How am I any different from them?"

"Your magic it's blue, isn't it? When you siphon someone... when you perform a powerful spell... Normal siphoner's powers are red, yours, however, are different. I'm just not sure why."

"Okay? How do you know that isn't due to the high amount of blue playdough I consumed as a child?"

Elijah stopped walking, instead, he turned to face her. "You... ate playdough as a child? You do know that is bad for you, right?"

"Obviously, now I do... I still eat chapstick sometimes but that is entirely their fault. Why else would they flavour it exactly like a pina colada? It's like they are telling me to eat it. But, yeah, and crayons. You're telling me you didn't?"

"Playdough wasn't a thing of my time but I am sure that even if it was I would not have eaten it. And I definitely have not delved into chapstick or crayons... Are you okay? Internally... and mentally?"

Margot shrugged, "Probably... I forgot you're old... and boring. Why are you old and boring but hot? That's weird. Are we almost at the tomb? My legs are getting sore."

As soon as she said that, the tomb came into sight. She immediately ran towards it and saw Stefan already waiting in the doorway for her. "Maggie? What are you doing here? And with Elijah?"

"Your release has been requested," the Original answered for her as Katherine slowly walked out behind the Salvatore.

"What? By who?" Stefan asked, glancing between Margot and Elijah.

"The lovely Elena drives a hard bargain. However, we reached a peaceful agreement, she and I. Margot, if you may?"

The siphoner smiled as she placed her hands on the cold stone before she began to siphon the spell. As soon as she no longer felt the energy of the spell, her hands dropped before she was quickly embraced by Stefan who was no longer kept inside the tomb.

Elijah smiled at the pair before his face went back to its stone-like expression as he stared at Katherine. "As for you, however, you should not exit until I say so. When Klaus comes he'll want to know exactly where you are."

He glanced back at Margot and Stefan, "You're free to go. Elena and Margot will explain the arrangement to you. If Elena keeps her word, I'll keep mine."

As the Original sped out of the tomb Katherine pleaded, "Stefan, no. Please don't let him leave me here."

Stefan only smiled as he wrapped his arm around Margot's shoulder. "Goodbye, Katherine."

— — —

"Hey, Margot?" Stefan asked suddenly as they were sitting in the parlour, both sipping on some bourbon, Margot reading a book while Stefan wrote in his journal.

"Yeah?" she answered as she set down her book.

"While I was in the tomb I had a lot of time to think..."

"Oh, that's always dangerous," she teased, earning a chuckle.

"We've known each other for five years. You've been living with me through those years... I think of you as my own and you called me Dad... Will you- Can I adopt you?"

"Please say yes! He's been stressed for the past hour!" Damon yelled from his bedroom causing the girl to laugh.

"Shut up, Damon!"

Margot smiled as she moved to sit next to him before pulling him into a hug, "I'd love that, Dad."

"Fucking finally," muttered Damon not knowing Stefan and Margot planned to attack him with water balloons while he was sleeping.